SPECTROPIA - Spectral Illusions

My ghastly good friend, Professor Spooky, just sent me the most fabulous ghostly gift. It is a reproduction of an
old 1864 book titled, "Spectropia, or Surprising Spectral Illusions: Showing Ghosts Everywhere, and of any Colour," by J. H. Brown. http://www.vahistorical.org/spectropia.htm

Have you ever received one of those emails where they instruct you to look at an image intently for a minute and then look away and you'll see another image? Well that is far from a 'new' parlour trick my friends. Apparently these apparitions of the eyes are very old tricks that were employed by unscrupulous Mediums preying on a gullible public, during the height of the Spiritualist movement in the late 1800's. (Not unlike the Spook Shows of that same time.) Turns out Brown wanted to be a colossal party pooper by "extinguishing the superstitious belief that apparitions are actual spirits." So he created this book, complete with 16 ghostly plates (images) that would produce apparitions when viewed. He then goes into a scientific explanation as to how and why it is that the eyes get fooled, which clearly sucks all the magic out of the magic tricks. But the book itself is REALLY cool, with old vintage graphics, and is fun to play around with too. Fun for the whole Freaky Family! Check it out, along with a couple of other great old finds like this haunting story published in the Southern Literary Messenger in June 1855. The title of the story is "A Night In A Haunted House," and you can read the abridged version here: http://www.vahistorical.org/hauntedhouse.htm And FYI...none other than the great Edgar Allen Poe was the Editor of the 'Messenger' from 1835 to 1837. My "Spectropia" book is just what the Witch Doctor ordered....THANKS Professor!